Ottawa poised to become manufacturing centre for cancer-fighting agent

Canadian scientists have received $11 million to advance research into cancer immunotherapy, much of it conducted in Ottawa, including a promising treatment that uses genetically modified immune cells to fight leukemia and other blood cancers.

The announcement, made Wednesday by the federally funded BioCanRx network, is designed to build both the scientific and manufacturing capacity required to launch Canadian-based human clinical trials of CAR-T cell therapy.

The therapy involves re-engineering a patient’s own T cells to make them better cancer fighters.

It was revealed Wednesday that Ottawa researchers will receive $5.5 million in grants and that the city will become home to a multimillion-dollar manufacturing centre capable of producing a key component of CAR-T cells.

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